You see them every night on television. They are on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium after Colts play. They are outside the Assembly Hall before IU Purdue plays and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They cover high school football games Friday nights.
You know her name – Taylor Tannebaum from WTHR. Olivia Ray of WISH-TV. Larra Overton, who previously worked for FOX59 and is now a Reporter for the Colts. Tricia Whitaker, who spent four years with CBS4 and now covers the Tampa Bay Rays as a sideline reporter for Bally Sports Florida. Meghan McKeown, who spent three years with WISH before becoming an analyst for the Big Ten Network.
But there are so many things you can not see.
IndyStar has spoken to nine women who have spent time as sports reporters and anchors in Indiana. We asked them about the struggles they faced and the hurdles they had overcome to get here. They spoke with pride about advances in the industry, and how they know they belong in the wardrobe, dominated by men. They also told stories of sexism from colleagues, nasty emails, threatened social media messages, a whisper in their ear, handwritten notes and threatened phone calls that could not be traced.
When the title IX was passed 50 years ago, women could only dream of the possibilities that are available in the sports media today. But it still has a long way to go.
“I want the next generation to understand what it took to get to this point, so that we never have to go through something like this again, and so that no one is ever excluded on the basis of gender or race or anything like that,” Whitaker said. said. “The only reason you should be excluded is if you are not qualified.”
‘Those jeans fit you perfectly’
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When Tamar Sher got her job as sports director at 14News in Evansville, she completely rebuilt her wardrobe – and on her own dimes. She has 10 different clothes to wear on set, and a whole host of other things to wear when she covers events.
“If I had to guess, I would say I was just shy of spending $ 1,000 to build my entire school wardrobe, interned and now in my first role as an anchor and reporter,” she said.
Bri Shackelford is the Sports Director at WLFI, the CBS partner in West Lafayette. She has 75-100 outfits, “but the wardrobe always crosses.”
“I spent over $ 500 just on clothes alone for this gig and I’m not done yet,” she said.
(By comparison, FOX59 / CBS4 sports reporter / anchor Chris Hagan told IndyStar that he buys new costumes “about every three years” and spends about $ 600 a year on new shirts and ties. “Much cheaper for men than women, in my opinion no., “he said.)
Larra Overton can not count the number of emails she received from viewers about what she carried in her four years as a morning show traffic reporter on FOX59.
“I remember people commenting that they did not like your hair or your makeup or your outfit that day,” she said. “I remember thinking, ‘I do the best I can.’ I get up at 2:30 or 3 in the morning and try to do my best, and someone wants to tell you that he thought your dress was not flowing. ‘Someone called me Traffic Barbie. Now I can laugh about things a little more. It causes you to develop thick skin. No matter how good a job you do, there are always those comments.
McKeown recalls a handwritten note she received from a woman during her time in Indianapolis.
“She said I was so talented, but my clothes were way too obvious and it was distracting for her husband to look at,” she said. “I had a man who told me I looked like I was just working on the street corner.”
Early in her career, Whitaker would text her mom photos of her outfit before going to news conferences or wardrobes.
“Would people say, ‘That dress is too tight’ or ‘This outfit is not flat enough’? You had 900 things running through your head,” she said. “I would send my mom pictures of my outfit and be like, ‘Mom, what do you think of this?’ What do you think people say about this outfit? ‘
Tannebaum recalls a time when she was covering an event and a man came up to her.
“He whispered in my ear, ‘Those jeans fit you perfectly,'” she said.
Earlier this year, while working for the Big Ten Network, McKeown received a phone call. And then another. And another.
“I had a man call my phone from an unknown number and ask what color of pants I was wearing,” she said. “Who else has to deal with this horror?”
Finally, she made a police report. The man stopped calling as her friend picked up the phone.
“Not everyone has a man who can do that for them, where it’s like, ‘There can be someone who can protect her,'” McKeown said. to do.”
‘I’m gonna figure out where you are’
Social media is the worst part. This may interest you : Sports Medicine Report: The latest update as Sporting prepares for the Open Cup Quarter-Finals vs Union Omaha #SKCvOMA | June 22, 2022. Just look at Tricia Whitaker’s social media mentions.
There’s the Instagram comment that said, “That’s sweet darling, at least you tried. Now get behind the kitchen and give me a beer.”
One person commented, “If you did not have a nice rack, you would not have gotten the job.”
There is one comment about Whitaker’s “wide hips,” and another about how “her legs look weird.” One person commented on a photo and said, “Stay eating chipotle, Lardass.”
She received comments asking why she was not married with children. One person responded to her Instagram story with, “Hopefully freezing to death is your last word.”
One person repeatedly sent threatening messages.
“He was like, ‘I’ll find you.’ I need you. I’ll find out where you are, “she said.
Whitaker heard it all. She breaks it down – but she remembers too. She keeps taking screenshots of comments on her phone. They are burning their fire.
“You can say you think I’m ugly. You can say you think I’m fat. That does not bother me,” she said. “It’s motivation. You want to say that women can not do this work? You want to say that we got this work just because of our looks? Cool, I’ll prove you wrong.
Olivia Ray also heard a lot. An Instagram post from a Colts game in 2020 asked for a comment: “Beautiful young lady with a beautiful smile and beautiful legs, you are doing a great job, keep up the good work.” One person responded to a photo of the last Colts game of the season in January with “Spank.” Another said, “You are so (explosively) beautiful.”
“I never engage with these comments, but I remember them,” she said. “When someone says something bad about me, I try not to come up with him. I just try to beat them, which means I go and prove them wrong. That was always my approach to everything in business.
The pine tree says her go-to method is “kill with kindness.” McKeown says “Silence is the best revenge.”
“I responded to each of the trolls who reached out,” she said. “They want to get a response from you. I’m not losing sleep over what people are telling me.”
Early in her career, Ray received tons of reviews and reviews. She admitted some of it was legitimate.
“Not all of them were unfair,” she said. “I really had to learn a lot and grow. I’m still challenging myself with that. I know I’m still pretty new to the business now.”
Whitaker said, “Women want to be treated the same. I’m not asking for any special treatment. If I say something wrong, correct me w.e.g. you have to take constructive criticism and not be sensitive about it if we want that respect.”
There are positives on social media, too. Ashley Adamson is a lead host and reporter for the Pac-12 Network who spent two years as a sports reporter and anchor at WISH-TV from 2010-2012.
“I connected with some amazing people via social media,” she said. “I have some people that I now consider to be dear friends that I have met through various social media channels.”
‘She thought it was a man’s job’
There was a slip of the tongue. Read also : CSA opens preschool for creative arts. Ray was in a hurry, and mispronounced Victor Oladipo’s last name – ‘Ah’-ladipo instead of ‘Oh’-ladipo.
“Southern accents are weird on vocals. I was in a hurry,” she said. “Then I got so much criticism about that soft ‘ah’. If anyone knows how to say his name, that’s me. I went to college with him. I covered him when I was a student. I met other men. in my department hear things say differently than the rest of the world says they do and I never saw a comment on them.I feel like it took about two weeks.It was exhausting.It was carried with me.I made sure I did not do it again.There I have to pay closer attention.I realize I have a southern accent that I worked really hard to hide.
It is a problem that almost every woman in the industry has encountered – the standards by which they are maintained are higher than their male counterparts.
“You have to be better educated than the man next to you,” Ray said. “You need to know more about the stats, more about each player, their history, their background. I don’t know if that’s a fair statement to make, but it’s the mindset change I kept. Sometimes I feel like I’m spend too much time studying before many matchups because so much of the knowledge is unused, but it makes me more comfortable going into a room knowing I keep my own.
When Adamson told her friends at college that she wanted to go to the sports media, she was immediately asked. Her male friends would ask her super specific sports questions, put her on the defensive.
“Nobody believes you really want to do it, or that you really want to do it for the right reasons, or that you can really do it,” she said. “It makes sense that you do not belong. The immediate reaction you get when you tell someone you want to go into the sport when you are a woman is, ‘Why? What kind of registration information do you need to be here?'”.
Early in her career, Whitaker would text her father the questions she planned to ask in the closet to avoid any unnecessary criticism.
“‘Do you think these are good questions? Do you think anyone is joking with one of them? Do you think they are relevant?’ I knew what I was talking about, “Whitaker said. “I know football and basketball. It’s crazy to feel like you have to do that, but the investigation was just a little too much to take.
Tannebaum’s first college job came in Dothan, Alabama, one of the smallest markets in the country. She was the first female anchor at her station (and is the first female sports anchor at WTHR).
“I had a little woman next door in my apartment complex. She did not like me because I was a woman who talked about sports, “said Tannebaum.” She thought it was a man’s job. “
JoJo Gentry’s first job from college came to Evansville, where she became the first woman to cover sports on the market as a reporter at WEVV. She spent more than two years as a sports reporter and anchor for more than two years at FOX59 and CBS4 in Indianapolis.
“I remember attending a community event to introduce myself as their new local sports journalist,” she said. “My first interaction with these men turned into a pop quiz. I will never forget a man pointing at me and saying, ‘I bet you do not even know the most famous baseball player from your hometown (Anderson, Ind.).’ tried to keep me cool. I forced myself to make eye contact with them and laugh. When I said, ‘I actually played golf with Carl Erskine,’ their smiles and claps indicated my approval. But it did explained to me that I knew sports, and even played Division I golf at Butler, to feel accepted.
Criticism can also come from colleagues. When Whitaker was an intern, she was driven to a job with a cameraman.
“He forgot he was sitting in a car with a female who went into the sport,” she said. “He immediately said, ‘I do not think women have a place in sports. They just do not belong here. “
Early in McKeown’s career, as she worked at Terre Haute, her boss told her “I need to learn how to handle my emotions and that I was not cut out for the industry.”
Gentry, who is now the director of strategic communications at Bar Communications as well as a freelance sideline reporter for IHSAA, said some of her biggest supporters are men. But this is not always the case.
“I’ve worked with a lot of men who want me to be successful with them. I consider those great times with great people,” she said. “I worked with a few who wanted to see me fail and try to take me down. The narrow boys’ clubs still exist. Those who choose to belong to those clubs are losers in my head. There are so many big ones. Men who support great women, and I have encouraged myself and others to find and stick to these men.
Adamson has a unique perspective on being a woman in the industry – she’s a mom too. She has had two children in the last five years. She was not too long at home with her newborn baby because she did not get paid leave. (The Pac-12 Network has since updated its policy to provide paid leave for new parents). She was afraid she would be replaced if she left for too long. She remembers pumping milk into the bathroom stall during the halfway point of a basketball tournament.
“There are all these things that come with being a mom when you’re on the road,” she said. “You have a very intense career. You can not point to work as you did not sleep in three days, if that is sometimes the case. I do not know what the solution is, or whether it is one, but I think there is something we are not talking about enough. We need more support from our organizations and media companies and society in general to be able to have what we need to become mothers and have babies and keep our jobs, and not the Feeling we have ‘Run out of gas’ emotionally.
‘I’m not asking for special treatment’
Whitaker does what she calls her dream job. Ray leaves WISH-TV soon to pursue new challenges in her career after establishing herself as an anchor and reporter. McKeown has made Primetime basketball games as a sideline reporter for ESPN and has been watched by millions.
Despite the challenges they face, these women are living their dream – and they are so grateful.
Ray knows that her experience in the industry is “not normal”. She graduated from IU just five years ago, and she spent three years in the 25th largest television market in the country.
“I’m really grateful to everyone who paved the way,” she said. “I can go to a Colts or Pacers wardrobe and no one will blink. Not so many years ago that was not the case.”
“I don’t know how women did it in the ’80s and’ 90s,” Whitaker said. “I can not even imagine, but I thank God for them. They have burned the track. Women want to be treated the same. I do not ask for any special treatment.”
Tannebaum has been at WTHR for four years, and knows she will be respected every time she goes to a Colts or Pacers locker room. She knows she has the support of her bosses, male counterparts and other women around the country will fight the same battle she is.
“We are starting to get more accustomed to the fact that women are going nowhere and that they know what they are talking about,” she said.
Adamson says she “gets so many incredible opportunities.”
“I feel like I’m in an incredible time to cover sports and have my career in the decade where I had it,” she said. “There were so many women who came before me, and not so long ago, who struggled at all to get into a wardrobe.”
Sher graduated from IU in 2021. She did not experience the same vitriol that some of her colleagues did. She hopes her experience will become the norm.
“I’m the only female sports director in southern Indiana, and I felt respected throughout the community,” she said. “I have never had a moment where I felt neglected in the industry, where I felt like I was being pushed away to have a seat. I’m at the table and making decisions. If we can get away from the issue of women in sport come, then we know we have arrived.
Who is Erin Andrews husband?
She was voted “America’s Sexiest Sportscaster”; in 2007 and 2008 by Playboy Magazine. She started a relationship with professional hockey player Jarret Stoll in December 2012. The couple got engaged in December 2016 and were married on June 24, 2017.
How did Erin Andrews meet her husband? According to The Heavy, the couple met “through their mutual friend Michael Strahan” in 2012. They had a magical Christmas engagement at Disneyland in 2016 and then tied the knot in Montana in 2017.
Is Erin Andrews still married?
| Erin Andrews | |
|---|---|
| Spouse (s) | Jarret Stoll (as of 2017) |
How long has Erin Andrews been married?
Erin Andrews, 43, is married to former professional hockey player Jarret Stoll. The couple tied the knot in June 2017 after being together for five years. Their ceremony was held in the mountains at Yellowstone Club, a private residential community in the Rocky Mountains.
Who is Erin Andrews partner?
How old is Jen Hale Fox Sports?
Who’s Laura okmin? Laura Okmin is an experienced reporter for FOX’s NFL coverage. Okmin joined the FOX Sports Network in 2002 as a host / anchor / reporter and has held many jobs in the FOX family since then.
Is Jen Hale husband?
| Jen Hale | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Louisiana State University Northwestern University |
| Profession | Sideline Reporter, Journalist, Author, TV Host |
Who is christina Pink?
Christina Pink is a reporter for FOX Sports’ NFL coverage, along with play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, analyst Troy Aikman, rules analyst Mike Pereira and veteran reporter Erin Andrews for FOX Sports coverage of Thursday Night Football.
What’s Kristina Pink’s real name? Kristina Pink’s real name is Kristina Pink. According to the player’s biography, she was born on March 12, 1986. She is currently 36 years old. The reporter is originally from her hometown of Florida.
Who is the Thursday Night Football sideline reporter?
ABC News reporter Kaylee Hartung has emerged as the top candidate to be the sideline reporter on Amazon’s Prime Video’s exclusive “Thursday Night Football” cover this fall, the Post has learned.
How tall is Kristina Pink Fox Sports?
Kristina Pink’s height and weight The sportscaster is 5 feet 7 inches or 166 inches tall and weighs about 125 pounds or 57 pounds. She has dark brown eyes and hair. Christina Pink is a popular reporter for Fox on the NFL.
Is Kristina Pink OK?
FOX Sideline reporter confirms that she’s fine after the gruesome fall during the broadcast. Clippers reporter Kristina Pink made a nasty slip during the broadcast of the postgame interview Sunday night, but confirmed she was okay.
How much is Erin Andrews salary?
For her role as a sideline reporter for Fox NFL, Erin Andrews earns a salary of about $ 2 million a year.
